Eerily well dressed men
Attracting the big names: Katie Eary
Fashion designer and Hackney resident Katie Eary has made her name in British Menswear, creating luxe prints and couture street attire. In 2011 her show caught the eye of Kanye West and she now calls the musician and fellow fashion designer a collaborator and friend. With swimwear and womenswear collections also under her belt, Eary is set for commercial greatness. Here, she talks to Rosie Higham-Stainton about underwear, Skins and skateboards.
So Katie, where are you from originally and where did you study?
Stevenage is my home town and I went to university in Leicester and did Contour Fashion (lingerie). It was basically awful! My idea of ‘sexy’ was Agent Provocateur and Myla, and this was very different from what everyone else was doing. Without any real grand plan, I ended up at The Royal College of Art doing an MA in Menswear.
For people who may not be familiar with your work, how would you describe your aesthetic?
I’d say it’s a couture version of street wear. It just sort of happened like that. I started working with Kanye [they have collaborated and Eary has consulted for him since 2011] and that completely opened my mind up to the possibilities of street wear.
Do you feel your surroundings inform your work, particularly in regard to street wear?
I feel like street wear in London has become a bit oversaturated. Everybody’s wearing Boy London, New Era Caps and backpacks – it’s like a uniform. I have to think ‘new new new’ all the time. I always ask my friends from Stevenage – because they’re just normal guys – and my little brothers, who just remind me of Skins. I didn’t set out to do this big glamorous thing. I just wanted to put on shows where people were like ‘wow!’ But it boils down to the fact that the individual pieces from my collections are actually really commercial.
You showed at London Collections: MEN [London’s fashion week for menswear, which is in its third season]. How did you find the experience?
I absolutely loved it. Since LC:MEN has started, I actually feel excited every season. Before that I had hit a bit of a brick wall. But since launching, it feels like the whole world is looking at men’s fashion week seriously now. It was a bit of get up and go for me.
Where do you see menswear heading?
I think its just going to get bigger and bigger. Burberry London has just come back [Burberry Menswear has been based in Milan for the past decade and is returning to London for LC:MEN in June] and I think that more and more British brands will do the same. The reason they go to Paris and Milan is to be taken seriously. I still get really excited about Paris and Milan fashion week, but I hope people start to feel that excitement around LC:MEN.
What have you got planned for June’s LC:MEN?
I’m revisiting a collection I did years ago. It’s a snaky one, inspired by Marabou Stalk Nightmares, the Irvine Welsh book. The character is in a coma and he’s in this weird dream, in a jungle, hunting for this stork. So I’m about to go back in there, back into the jungle! Obviously, this collection will be completely different but the inspiration is there. It’s only now that I’ve got the resources to make the idea for that collection totally how I want it to be.
You designed a skateboard recently, where did the idea for that come from?
Last summer I decided to completely rebrand. So the last two seasons are the ones I’ve been most excited about and I really know who my market is now – I know who he is. I thought, ‘well, my brothers skate’ and because I’ve been coined as a print designer, it made sense to print onto a board.
And finally – do you have any favourite Hackney haunts?
I absolutely loved Hackney Wick, where I lived after being at RCA. I lived with all these artists and designers. My bedroom was made of breeze block walls, but it was amazing. I totally didn’t fit in, I’d be walking around in fur coats and big Prada shoes and they would be like ‘oh?’, but it was a great introduction to East London.
Catch Katie Eary at London Collections: MEN and at katieeary.co.uk